You expect someone like Welker to catch over 70% of the passes thrown his way, because the vast majority of passes thrown to him are only 5-10 yards downfield.

But a deep threat like Wallace gets many passes thrown to him from 25+ yards away, so you'd expect his catch % to be more like the 50-50 proposition you get from Desean Jackson.

That is indeed a remarkable stat for Wallace.

If you are into advanced stats, Wallace was ranked #1 in the NFL in both DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) and DYAR (Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement), and he leads the league in both stats this season as well.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/wr

StarSpangledSteeler

11-10-2011, 02:33 PM

That is one of the biggest oversights in all the hyping of our young WR's. In all the effort to praise their speed, quickness, separation, route running, people forget to mention how good all three of these guys are at actually "catching" the ball. Even badly thrown balls. They have great hands and great concentration. This is a very rare quality even amongst great WR's, you always see "gimmie" drops. Not our guys. (which is nice for a change)

Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis has taken notice of the connection between Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and receiver Mike Wallace.

The duo has hooked up for six touchdowns, including a 25-yarder in the fourth quarter last week against Baltimore.

"Somebody keeps creating that separation to get (Wallace) the ball," Lewis said. "That play Wallace made on that touchdown (against Baltimore), those are the things that Ben does to keep drives alive throughout the game."

Wallace also has caught 81- and 95-yard touchdowns this year.

"Mike has the one thing you can't coach, and that's speed," Lewis said. "They move him around a lot now, and that shows some growth and development on his part. Wallace and (Antonio) Brown are best speed tandem in the league. Back in my days in Baltimore, you could cheat coverage on them a little bit. You can't do that anymore."

>> The Steelers' offensive line is as cohesive as it's been all season.

"Once we can get a rhythm, we'll be unstoppable," said guard Chris Kemoeatu. "The last three weeks, we've been playing pretty good ball."

The Bengals rank second in the league defensively against the run, but Kemoeatu sounds confident.

"Whatever plays they call, we're trying to execute. I definitely think we can run the ball because they bring a lot of stuff, and they use some double-barrel stuff."

>> Cincinnati offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said the Bengals are trying to establish an identity now that Palmer has been shipped to Oakland.

"We have a young team that's starting its own legacy," Whitworth said. "We are trying to establish who we are and what we want to be. We closed that chapter on Carson. Andy is our guy."

QUOTABLE

"Roethlisberger is playing as well as he's played. When things break down, he's making plays that aren't scripted. If he's got the ball in his hand, and there's time on the clock, he's dangerous." — Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati coach

"Whatever plays they call, we're trying to execute. I definitely think we can run the ball because they bring a lot of stuff, and they use some double-barrel stuff."

Am I the only one who has trouble trying to understand Kemo's point here?

So, because the Bengals 'bring a lot of stuff'...even this 'double barrel stuff'...we should be able to move the ball?

DkBlue

11-13-2011, 11:43 AM

"Whatever plays they call, we're trying to execute. I definitely think we can run the ball because they bring a lot of stuff, and they use some double-barrel stuff."

Am I the only one who has trouble trying to understand Kemo's point here?

So, because the Bengals 'bring a lot of stuff'...even this 'double barrel stuff'...we should be able to move the ball?

Not sure what he means either. Puzzling.

flippy

11-13-2011, 01:12 PM

I think some of it has to do with the QB. Ben usually steers away from tight coverage and throws to guys when they're wide open.

Play calling has something to do with it as well. BA's moving Wallace all over the place to get him open.

Even on the outs, people respect Wallace's deep speed and they leave him wide open underneath.

And Brown's speed is helping too. Teams can't cheat Wallace's way with Brown on the field and add in Sanders and Wallace is gonna have room to get open.

The real surprising part to me is Wallace doesn't have great hands.

The other WR that I get to see a lot that really impresses me is Steve Smith in Carolina. That guy should not be high up on the list because he catches so many balls when he's got 2 guys on him and he somehow gets over them, around them, through them, etc. to get his hands on a ball to make a grab.

The other guy that's really good that shouldn't have such a high percentage is Greg Jennings. But I don't see much of him outside his highlights, but suspect it could have something to do with Rodgers and their offense. And maybe he gets targeted when he's wide open.

feltdizz

11-13-2011, 01:13 PM

"Whatever plays they call, we're trying to execute. I definitely think we can run the ball because they bring a lot of stuff, and they use some double-barrel stuff."

Am I the only one who has trouble trying to understand Kemo's point here?

So, because the Bengals 'bring a lot of stuff'...even this 'double barrel stuff'...we should be able to move the ball?

Not sure what he means either. Puzzling.

just a guess but maybe he is saying the Bengals run-blitz a lot so if we guess right we could see some big runs.